Swallowed Star 2: Origin Continent

Chapter 108: Contest in Chu Capital - Guest Elder

**Ancient Flame Kingdom, Chu Capital, outside the East Gate.**

At this moment, an elite army was already waiting respectfully outside the East Gate. Large ships and flying boats were docked nearby, with everyone eagerly awaiting the arrival.

“I heard that this newly appointed Marquis Chu Yu was directly conferred as a first-class marquis,” said one of the royal descendants gathered on one of the flying boats. They, too, were waiting.

“Marquis Chu Yu is solely focused on comprehending the Laws and has also mastered the Infinite Divine Body! With the potential and talent of the Infinite Divine Body, it’s only natural that he was immediately appointed as a first-class marquis upon his breakthrough,” a royal descendant said proudly.

“Uncle Chu Yu even gave me guidance in the past! With the Infinite Divine Body, his status within the clan was already special. Now, having broken through to the Chaos Realm, he has directly become a core member of our Emperor Chu lineage.”

These royal descendants, all part of the Emperor Chu lineage, felt a great sense of pride at this moment.

“Amazing.”

“Marquis Chu Yu is truly extraordinary.”

The other noble descendants praised him. In the Ancient Flame Kingdom, the most powerful were the thirteen branches of the royal family, with the other noble families being significantly weaker. As for Chaos Realm families? Unless a ‘Chaos Realm Transcendent’ was born, Chaos Realm families were quite ordinary and could not mingle with the royal and noble circles.

Two figures were drinking together, with maids attending to them.

“A first-class marquis is indeed different—granted a first-class marquis mansion, a personal army, and his fief is a ‘first-class large city,’” a chubby man sighed, “and he also has two slots to apply for guest elders.”

“But what about us? We, the third-class marquises, get a small city as a fief, a small mansion, and a few personal guards. We don’t even qualify to apply for guest elders,” the chubby man grumbled.

The tall woman sitting beside him laughed heartily, “We follow the path of bloodline cultivation, relying on our bloodline to reach the Chaos Realm. After that, we have to switch to studying the Laws. The Laws are too difficult for us. I only hope to progress further and become a second-class marquis. As for being a first-class marquis, I don’t even dare to think about it.”

“You still have hope; at least you have mid-tier Chaos Realm strength now. But I…” The chubby man pointed at himself, “Among the 29 marquises of the Emperor Chu lineage, only two have ordinary Chaos Realm strength, and I’m one of them! I’ve been in the Chaos Realm for over three thousand eras, yet I’m still just an ordinary Chaos Realm being. I’m far from reaching the pinnacle of the Chaos Realm.”

As the two marquises chatted, they suddenly noticed a tear in the distant space-time, forming a space-time passage.

“They’ve arrived.” The two marquises perked up.

At this moment, the marquises, royal and noble descendants, personal guards, and others who had come to greet them all looked towards the distant space-time passage.

Five figures flew out of the space-time passage.

Emperor Chu Yu led the group, accompanied by the Vice Pavilion Master, Luo Feng, and the Boundary Beast Morosa, along with Moyu Qingyan.

“Hmm? The man beside Marquis Chu Yu?”

“He’s standing alongside Marquis Chu Yu; clearly, Marquis Chu Yu holds this black-clad man in high regard.”

Everyone noticed Luo Feng, dressed in black.

“He’s the Grand Saint Luo He from Yuguo,” some well-informed marquises, royal descendants, and others who had already familiarized themselves with the top powerhouses on the Origin Continent, immediately recognized Luo Feng.

“This Grand Saint Luo He defeated Marquis Liu Yin in a battle at Huyang City. His physical body has been trained to an incredible level; he can tread the earth and touch the stars!”

“He is a peak Chaos Realm existence.”

“He and Marquis Chu Yu are together? Could it be that Marquis Chu Yu has chosen him as his first guest elder?”

…

Luo Feng and Emperor Chu Yu traveled through the space-time passage, directly arriving at Chu Capital in the Ancient Flame Kingdom from Huyang City in Yuguo. This left Luo Feng quite moved: “Space-time transmission is indeed incredibly mysterious. I also have to rely on space-time treasures to perform a single space-time transmission.”

The Chaos Realm was almost incapable of space-time transmission on its own.

They all relied on treasures.

Space-time treasures that could be used repeatedly were extremely valuable. Luo Feng possessed a one-time-use talisman that would be destroyed after a single use. A single space-time transmission talisman required the power of the Chaos Realm to activate and was worth 1 billion Cosmos Sand. Even in the Chaos Realm, it would only be used in critical moments.

Emerging from the space-time passage, Luo Feng immediately saw the army outside the imposing East Gate, as well as the many large ships and flying boats that had come to greet them.

“Greetings, Marquis!”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The army shouted in unison, bowing respectfully.

Emperor Chu Yu smiled at the sight and said to Luo Feng beside him, “This is the personal guard I was granted after reaching the Chaos Realm. They are elite troops trained by the Emperor Chu lineage.”

Luo Feng observed that this personal guard consisted of a thousand Eternal True Gods and countless Void True Gods. Even outside the city, under the command of the army formation leader, they moved as one, their might surpassing that of the Jiugang Marquis’s army formation and the Heart Shadow Sect’s forces.

In the Ancient Flame Kingdom, this personal guard was considered elite and could easily sweep through the Heart Shadow Sect’s forces or the Jiugang Marquis’s army.

“Father!”

“Father!”

Before the army formation stood a dignified woman with three young men, who looked at Emperor Chu Yu with excitement. Their father had gone on a journey to train and had returned as a Chaos Realm being, and not just any, but a first-class marquis! This was a fortune descending from the heavens.

Whoosh!

Emperor Chu Yu brought Luo Feng and the others to the front of the army formation. He glanced at the three young men, feeling a bit of a headache.

“Chu Yu, when we heard of your appointment as marquis, I brought the three children back from Fengye City immediately,” the dignified woman said.

“Father, the news of you becoming a first-class marquis has already spread throughout the entire Chu Capital.”

“There are only seven first-class marquises in the Emperor Chu lineage, and you are one of them,” the three sons said excitedly.

Emperor Chu Yu nodded, then introduced Luo Feng beside him, “This is my close friend, Grand Saint Luo He. From now on, when you see him, treat him as you would treat me. Show him the utmost respect.”

“Greetings, Uncle.” The three young men immediately bowed respectfully. They also realized that this man must be an impressive ally their father had invited.

“Greetings, Grand Saint Luo He.” The dignified woman also greeted him politely.

“No need for such formality, Madam,” Luo Feng replied with a smile. He could see that the relationship between Emperor Chu Yu and this woman was probably quite distant; there was no trace of closeness even after such a long time apart.

Emperor Chu Yu, on the other hand, walked over to an old servant standing beside the three children and showed a rare moment of affection.

“Marquis,” the old servant said, his voice trembling with emotion.

“Old Zheng, it’s been a long time,” Emperor Chu Yu said, looking at this servant, who was only at the level of a Void True God.

“The old servant is finally seeing His Highness conferred as a marquis, and not just any marquis, but a first-class marquis,” Old Zheng said, his voice thick with emotion.

This old servant had been left behind by Emperor Chu Yu’s mother and had followed and cared for him during his weakest days. Though called a servant, he was more like family.

As they reunited—

“Chu Yu!”

“Brother Chu Yu!”

The marquises of the Emperor Chu lineage finally made their appearance.

Emperor Chu Yu looked up to see the marquises who held high status within the clan, all eagerly coming to greet him.

Luo Feng quietly observed everything. Before coming to the Ancient Flame Kingdom, Emperor Chu Yu had provided him with detailed information on the top powerhouses of the Origin Continent, including all the Chaos Realm beings within the Ancient Flame Kingdom.

Luo Feng compared the information one by one.

“The Emperor Chu lineage of the Ancient Flame Kingdom has 29 marquises in total, and seven of them have come to greet Emperor Chu Yu today. Five of them are third-class marquises, and two are second-class marquises,” Luo Feng instantly identified them.

As for the first-class marquises, who held a status equivalent to Emperor Chu Yu, not a single one had come.

“I’ve heard that competition within the royal family is fierce, and first-class marquises are direct rivals,” Luo Feng understood this point.

The so-called third-class marquises were essentially in a semi-abandoned state by the royal family, receiving only the most basic resources and nothing else.

Second-class marquises received significantly more resources.

First-class marquises were the only ones who had access to the core resources of the entire Origin Continent. Naturally, they also had to undergo brutal competition amongst themselves.

“As a guest elder, the threshold for obtaining resources is much higher than for a first-class marquis,” Luo Feng knew this well. The Ancient Flame Kingdom prioritized cultivating their royal family’s first-class marquises,

who were considered absolute elites.

As for guest elders? It was more of a transactional relationship.

Guest elders served the ancient kingdom, earning merit in exchange for resources. Thus, the resources they obtained were naturally far less than those of a first-class marquis.

…

After dealing with the many marquises, Emperor Chu Yu finally brought Luo Feng aboard the large ship.

**Onboard the ship.**

The lady and the three children went to the back, while Emperor Chu Yu and Luo Feng sat in the front hall, gazing at the East Gate in the distance.

“Those who came to greet us are all second-class and third-class marquises,” Emperor Chu Yu explained. “Our Emperor Chu lineage has three Divine Kings. The Divine Kings are exalted and naturally don’t handle trivial matters. Many affairs are decided by us first-class marquises.”

“So, they’re here to curry favor with you,” Luo Feng understood.

A first-class marquis from the royal family either possessed an Infinite Divine Body in the Chaos Realm or had peak Chaos Realm strength. Meeting one of these two criteria was enough to become a first-class marquis.

Of course, this was the requirement for royal descendants.

For those like Luo Feng, who were independent cultivators, becoming a guest elder was a complicated matter.

“I’ve already applied for you to become a guest elder,” Emperor Chu Yu said with a smile. “Under normal circumstances, it will be approved.”

“What circumstances would cause it to be rejected?” Luo Feng asked.

“One, insufficient strength. Two, questionable identity,” Emperor Chu Yu laughed. “You have peak Chaos Realm strength, so your strength is certainly sufficient. As for your identity? There’s no problem with that either.”

**Buzz~~~**

The large ship flew over the vast East Gate of Chu Capital, with the personal guard entering as well.

“How can you be sure there’s no problem with my identity?” Luo Feng asked, puzzled.

“The Ancient Flame Kingdom isn’t too concerned about the background of guest elders. Whether they’re heinous criminals, extremely fortunate individuals, or entangled in numerous terrifying karmic ties… the Ancient Flame Kingdom doesn’t care! As long as one thing is certain: they’re not from an alien race,” Emperor Chu Yu explained.

“Alien race?” Luo Feng asked.

“Those who are from outside the Cage,” Emperor Chu Yu said. “The inheritance resources of the Ancient Flame Kingdom can be imparted to any being within the Cage but are never passed on to alien races.”

Luo Feng was secretly surprised.

Alien race?

“When we entered Chu Capital, it was confirmed that you are a being from within the Cage,” Emperor Chu Yu explained further. “This Chu Capital city was personally refined by the Flame Wind Ancestor and given as a gift to the Emperor. Any alien race entering this city would be immediately detected!”

Luo Feng was amazed.

The most mysterious and terrifying existence in the Ancient Flame Kingdom was the Flame Wind Ancestor, followed by the thirteen Emperors!

“Hmm?” Emperor Chu Yu suddenly smiled, “As soon as you entered the city and it was confirmed that your identity was fine, your guest elder application was approved. Congratulations, Brother Luo He! You’re now officially a guest elder of our Emperor Chu lineage.”

Luo Feng smiled, “Thank you, Brother Chu Yu.”